Please note: there will be SPOILERS in this review. Probably nothing a fan couldn't guess, but I have to touch on the ending a little bit just to encapsulate the general experience.

When the lights came up at the end of the world premiere of My Little Pony Equestria Girls, following a brief in-credits easter egg for fans, my screening companion (whom regular commenters will know as Kyle "SlyDante" LeClair) turned to me and said, "On behalf of all Friendship is Magic fans, I would like to apologize to you for the preceding movie" (this was what he meant by taking a bullet yesterday). Considering the zeal with which the little-girl audience responded to the film's musical numbers with well-prompted clapping led by festival volunteers, I suspect the official target audience won't mind too much. But when it comes to Bronies, the adult male fans of the cartoon who insist it's a well-written show...I predict there may be some gnashing of teeth. Whatever clever concepts the show may have - and I cannot claim to be especially familiar with it - the movie does not do very much with (there is a funny parody of political attack ads, but that's about it). And for a TV cartoon turned movie (think of how Simpsons did it, or Beavis and Butt-head), there was no extra expenditure to make things look better on the big screen. Given the relatively simple nature of the drawings, you could probably watch this on your phone and not lose much visual detail, if any. I wouldn't suggest paying to watch it, but if you held a gun to my head and told me I had to see it again, I'd say, "Sure, fine whatevs." It's far from the worst movie based on a TV cartoon I've ever seen. If you can really call it a movie at all.

Things start off in Pony World, Equestria, which looks a bit like what might happen if Jon Kricfalusi tried to illustrate Dr. Seuss and it was all ponies. Purple pony Twilight Sparkle (please tell me this name is not derived from that thing Edward Cullen does in sunlight) is attending a Princess Summit, having recently received wings and a crown with a magic gem in it. She's apprehensive - worried about the responsibility of being a leader - and unable to find a comfortable sleeping position for the new appendages. But no sooner does she briefly manage some slumber than an evil pony named Sunset Shimmer - a Darth Vader-like failed student of Queen Celestia who fell to the dark side - steals the crown, and absconds with it through a magic mirror into another dimension. Twilight must follow and get the crown back, but the doorway will only be open for a limited time, and she must go alone. Well, but Spike the dragon goes with her anyway, so scratch that rule.

If you remember the TV show Sliders, it pretty much sets the template for what happens next. Twilight enters a parallel reality in which she is now human (sort of - humans in this realm can be blue and pink, for example, so it's not exactly our reality) and there are human versions of every other major character on the show, all with the same names (presumably, to be consistent, there must already be a Twilight Sparkle in this dimension, unless Quantum Leap rules are in effect). So she shows up at a high school, just starts pretending she's a new student, and everyone, including the school administration, totally just accepts it. Sunset Shimmer is the queen bitch of this new school, having become so by dividing friends against each other - she sends nasty fake emails, and everyone just totally believes them, which makes them dumb enough to deserve the leadership they get, if you ask me. But Twilight's smarter than that, even if she does keep forgetting she's not a horse any more.

By the time we get to a point where there are zombies and demons, the girls are now half-animal hybrids for no reason, and they're blasting rainbows at the big bad, I had given up hoping for consistency. Since the early days of Care Bears I've accepted that many toy-based cartoons aimed at girls will end with unexplained powers somehow saving the day because magic, but that doesn't make it any more...um...believable? Not really the right word. But while I'm at it, how come nobody else jumps through that totally wide-open portal to Equestria in the school's front yard? And why does a major pony character ask, "What are hands?" when Spike pretty clearly has hands? And what's with Spike's creepy crush on Rarity, which manifests itself as alt-reality dog-Spike wanted to be petted and scratched by human Rarity all the time? (If it's a nod to the more deviant fans of the property, I get it.)

I am a brony, and I just saw this movie. I have to say it was FANTASTIC! You are correct in that the plot is a little weak and inconsistent. But lets be honest here; no one watches the show for the plot. It's the comedy and characters that I and most others watch the show for. Also your thing about the little girls clapping prompted by festival volunteers is only true at the release you went to. At all the other showings I saw the crowd was 90% adult guys who all seemed pretty normal, and they all clapped at the end on their own. You clearly weren't paying attention that well because there is another Twilight that Pinkie Pie mentions when Twilight first meets her. Also, there was no rule that no one else could go into the portal other than Twilight; Princess Celestia just said that it probably wasn't a good idea. Your point about believability also goes out the window because this is a show about ponies and magic. With those in the show the ending is pretty believable. Also, Spike is a dragon so he has claws, not hands. Also, no one else jumped into the portal because who would jump right into what they thought was a stone statue? Also the thing with Spike and Rarity is well established in the show, so it isn't out of the blue or creepy. Also, I don't think that Twilight's inability to cope with her new body initially is a metaphor for puberty. Why would the writers put that in a movie targeted at young girls and older guys? Finally, I do commend you for liking Pinkie Pie.

P.S. One of the writers of the show said that Twilight Sparkle's name is a joke about the movie Twilight

it's just a throwaway adventure story. You'll only really enjoy it if you've seen the entire TV series, although it might be disappointing if you were hoping for a film that matched the quality of the first few seasons. I just liked seeing the girls again, and admittedly I have a penchant for seeing them all dressed up. :) And I for one adore the art, even though they weren't given a very big budget to work with. (the finale episodes of the TV series have higher production values!)

I went into this expecting the worst, what I got was 70 minutes of insanity (see "...zombies and demons, the
girls are now half-animal hybrids for no reason, and they're blasting
rainbows at the big bad") and completely unexpected, goofy, fun, entertainment, that doesn't mean it wasn't dumb, or that there wasn't a lot of idiot ball played, or that there weren't gaping plot holes; even if it's a blatant play by Hasbro for the Monster High set, for the tiny equine-inclined, young or old, it's an arguably half-decent TV movie that really shouldn't have been released to theatres... I'm sure in the Equestria Dailies and 4chans of the Internet, people will argue for weeks over it, though.

I went into this expecting the worst, what I got was 70 minutes of insanity ("...zombies and demons, the
girls are now half-animal hybrids for no reason, and they're blasting
rainbows at the big bad") and completely unexpected, goofy, fun, entertainment, that doesn't mean it wasn't dumb, there wasn't a lot of idiot ball played, or that there weren't gaping plot holes; and even if it's a blatant play by Hasbro for the Monster High set, for the tiny equine-inclined, young or old, it's an arguably half-decent TV kids' movie that really shouldn't have been released to theatres... though I'm sure in the Equestria Dailies and 4chans of the Internet, people will argue for weeks over it.

"Things start off in Pony World, Equestria, which looks a bit like what
might happen if Jon Kricfalusi tried to illustrate Dr. Seuss and it was
all ponies."

That right there, may very well be one of the dumbest sentences ever written. And i'm not even referring to the fact that you spelled his name wrong. More like i'm absolutely baffled by the comparison since it makes absolutely no sense. Seriously, is Ren and Stimpy, like, the only other cartoon you've ever watched in your life or something? Otherwise I have no idea what that comparison was even remotely supposed to refer to.

I just seen this movie yesterday with my girl her daughter(16) and my daughter(7) and it was cute. Im nota Brony by any means but the show is cute. My kid likes and and yes Pinkie Pie is the best pony (Tara Strong FTW). and I guess(my girls kid had to tell me) That the easter egg at the end of the Credits *Spoiler* Derpy dancing was her favorite part since I guess they cut the character out. All in all it was a cute film.

I've seen some MLP episodes with my daughter - they seemed to be exactly what they said they were, which is a modernizing of the old 80s show. My daughter liked it despite her instinctive dislike of anything 'girly' and finished the season so it definitely must be somewhat watchable.

I didn't fall in love with the show but I feel like bronies suffer a bit from a double standard - if a girl likes Transformers its hawt but if a guy likes MLP it is creepy, fetishized, etc.

I think a movie where the entire main cast were transported to our actual world would be hilarious, just for their reactions to the Brony fandom overall. I have this image of Fluttershy trying to tell the others they must be tolerant, and that it all clearly comes from love before being suddenly cutoff as one of the others shows her "Futashy"

I watched a couple of episodes when this thing started to take off just to see what the fuss was about. I found it cutesy, charming, and entertaining enough for what it was but not enough for me to care about it. Though I will admit that Pinkie made me laugh in a Warner Bros. kind of way.

I'm a brony who's already seen the movie, and I have to admit, I agree with you on a few of those points. The movie wasn't as great as it could have been.

From some of the remarks you made, I take that to mean you haven't watched enough of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic to know much about it; this is understandable, it's definitely not a show for everyone.

Just for clarification on a few of your points: Spike doesn't have hands, he has claws. Hands definitely aren't scaly and pointed on the ends, so it's still a legitimate question.

There were quite a number of cultural and otherwise obscure references; those who are into a large amount of western culture, including culture from, say, the 70's and 80's, would catch a lot of them. There was a lot more than just the political attack ads you speak of.

In the beginning of the movie, Princess Celestia (not a queen, chalk that up to little girl's cartoon) states that sending more than one pony through the portal would likely cause an imbalance in dimensional stability, or something along those lines. Spike follows Twilight because he was thinking rashly and worried for his friend whom he'd grown up with all his life.

The crush on Rarity is something that has been expounded upon since the beginning of the series; changing bodies doesn't change personality.

That about does it for inconsistencies! The rest are legitimate complaints, and I can agree with you on some of them.

I was expecting it to be really dumbed down, as it's just a show based on selling toys. For all my doubts I didn't feel like I was watching some awful Disney tween show. And the nods to the fandom I think will keep brony rage at bay. I wouldn't mind re-watching this over and over again, as I will have to for work anyway.

Ah, so not that good then? Well, good thing for me I don't have to worry about buying now then. I'll just wait for when they air it on the hub in a few months(or YouTube). Still, I was hoping to hear better about the music.

Anyway, now I go to MLP sites to view the inevitable "You hate it, you're not a real fan of the show" "You like it, you're not a real fan of the show!" fights that usually show up after anything

*Sigh* it's things like this that make me glad I walked away from this series early on in short this is proof of a good concept being driven into the ground for simple comercial concerns. Oh well it was fun while it lasted

"Twilight enters a parallel reality in which she is now human and there are human versions of every other major
character on the show..." I know this concept sent me into gibbering madness before, but I swear I'm over it. "...the girls are now half-animal hybrids for no reason, and they're blasting rainbows at the big bad..." I was wrong, beware the rabbit his intentions are unclear, the celery stalks at midnight!

@ComradeDread1 I generally dont like modern kids tv. I liked cartoons growing up but began finding new ones severely distasteful in the late 90s. I never, ever liked the semi-serious live-actor shows on kids networks. (stuff like eureka's castle and sesame street are exempt from this. I'm talking about stuff like hey dude and saved by the bell. I found salute your shorts and pete & pete MILDLY tolerable because they often went for laughs and neither show took itself seriously at all.)

taking that sort of taste into account. I decided to give this series a watch from pure curiosity. I found it to be somewhat likable, with the occasional stupid throwaway episode that didn't really need to exist, and at times a tad overbearing with the one-lesson-per-episode theme.

The movie was somewhat interesting, but I felt they could have done a lot more with it than they did. I probably won't watch it again by choice.

@ComradeDread1 Perhaps because-- spoiler alert-- not everyone has identical interests to yours. Shocking, isn't it? Some people are passionate about writing; some people struggle with basic grammar. Some people find math really interesting; others dread anything more complicated that basic multiplication. Since we know everyone is different, why is it so hard for people to understand how anyone to enjoy a hobby or series that you personally don't?

@Deckard Only the minority of about 13% of bronies actually do that. Unless you're someone who believes Howard Stern's or the general internet troll population that spreads the overly generalized falsehood that it's somehow 100%.

@Cinna@Scootareader Actually Spike had some of the more clever come backs and was constantly reminding Twilight she wasn't a pony and was therefore doing things wrong. Going so far as to smack her upside the head when she says "Every pony" so she corrects herself with "Every body"

@soup@Deckard Interestly enough a poll showed approximately 40% of bronies masturbate to pony related material and a majority of the bronies are tolerant of people who do. But in the end it really doesn't matter what people's sexual fetishes are. It's their business and as long as it isn't hurting or exploiting another organism it's fine.